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01 March 2011

Darjeeling Tea with Rum

It's been a long day. And at the end of this particular long day I want to sit down, relax, and unwind a bit.

I feel a bit spoiled by this drink. But the main ingredients came from far away places. My brother brought me this Darjeeling tea from India, the most prized of the black teas. The other main ingredient is coming from a bottle of rum I brought back from the Dominican Republic.

I should note a bit about the Darjeeling tea. In essence, it is a black tea and any black tea will work for this concoction. For Darjeeling tea, when brewed it has a pale yellow color with a light liquor and a fruity flavor. It also has a sweet, mellow taste which is why it pairs well with a good dark rum. These leaves are really fresh, and have a bit of punch to them.

The Shopping List:

1 oz of dark rum

5 oz of Darjeeling Tea

1 lemon wedge

1 cinnamon stock,

Sugar to taste

The Method:

Heat the water, but not quite to boiling temperature. Steep tea in a diffuser for three to five minutes.

Pour the tea into a glass that is heat-proof. I've used this cup for display purposes, but it really is too hot to handle in a glass container. Unless I felt like drinking it while wearing an oven mitt. Now that would be a fashion statement. I transferred it over into a goblet before consuming.

Sweeten the tea with a little sugar, more or less to taste. Add in the rum and stir with a cinnamon stick. Top with a wedge of lemon and serve.

I should note my personal preference with most teas is not to drink them when they are burning hot. I wait a bit for it to settle so that is still warm but cooled off. To me this helps so I can enjoy the flavors. You also note that I always overfill my tea with leaves because I like the strong flavor, but really you only need what would be enough to cover the bottom of the tea pot to brew the tea.